February 2, 2015

Stripy, lacy, swooshy goodness! (aka yet another McCall’s 6931)


Last year I got quite the stash from Kashi at Metro Textiles in NYC, including Pendleton silk, wool for baby coats, aaaaaaannnnd
THIS STRIPY LACE.
McCalls M6931 and Christine Jonson wrap top
Wargh! I don’t usually like lace but this very simple design called my name. Loudly.  It has sat in my stash ever since, being brought out frequently for petting and draping (my favourite thing to do with uncut yardage is to drape it over myself to make full length strapless ballgowns with a train….). I finally decided that it was time to Liberate the Lace, and plotting began.
McCalls M6931 and Christine Jonson wrap top

As soon as I saw it at Kashi’s I thought a full, tea-length, skirt with an underskirt would be just the job. For the fullness a circle skirt would have been great, but I wanted to keep the stripes horizontal and you can’t do that with a circle skirt (or at least without tons of individual panels and just imagine the stripe matching on that).

Instead, I got out my old trusty TNT: the McCall’s M6931. It has both pleats and a slightly gathered waist (thanks to the elastic waistband), and actually comes with a suggestion to do a sheer/under layered version. The underskirt is black silk (also from Kashi!), hemmed slightly shorter than I usually do with this pattern. And then the overskirt is exactly the same, just longer.

McCalls M6931 and Christine Jonson wrap top

I was pretty nervous about sewing with it, because it boggles the mind a little to figure out how a sewing machine can sew what is mostly air. But, surprisingly, it worked (yet another case of just giving things a try rather than freaking out). I used French seams at the side which worked fine although they’re slightly bulky because I was erring on the side of caution. For the hem, I just cut underneath one of the solid lines, and because of the way lace is woven, no finishing is required.

McCalls M6931 and Christine Jonson wrap top
What can I say? I LOVE IT. It goes well with my black Christine Jonson wrap-dress top hack (believe it or not this is exactly the same combo of patterns as my flamingo outfit!) and my ever-trusty gold JCrew belt (top tip: they have plus sizes ones online).
McCalls M6931 and Christine Jonson wrap top

Now I just have to engineer a bunch of opportunities to wear this gauzy lady out of the house. Either that, or I need to be super trendy and wear it with a turtle neck and some sneakers, JCrew style…

Have you ever worked with lace? What other modern ways have you found to use it?

60 thoughts on “Stripy, lacy, swooshy goodness! (aka yet another McCall’s 6931)

  1. Gail says:

    Wow! Beautiful!!

  2. elaineoc says:

    This is gorgeous! Love the shorter length underskirt, it really shows off the fabric.

    1. Jenny says:

      Yes I’ve always loved lace with an underlay… it’s pretty effective 😀

  3. Marike Smit says:

    Hmmm…Im thinking a decadent high tea on a Sunday afternoon. The skirt is absolutely beautiful!

    1. Jenny says:

      I need tea and scones and cucumber sandwiches, stat!

    1. Jenny says:

      Thank you Sam !

  4. this is so pretty! would be fab with a coloured underlayer as well!

    1. Jenny says:

      Ooh that’s a good idea! I do have a bit of it left over…

  5. sew rachel! says:

    I love this! I’ve been thinking about a skirt just like this on pintrest for probably a year now… This is perfect! Thanks for the sewing inspiration as always!!!

    1. Jenny says:

      You’re welcome! It isn’t easy to find striped lace but once you do you must BUY IT ALLLL

  6. Andie L. says:

    Love this skirt/top combo! Looks amazing and perfect stripe matching! 🙂

    1. Jenny says:

      Thanks Andie! That wrap top comes in so useful, I really should make another couple

  7. Jenny, what a beautiful outfit!

    Thank you for introducing me to this pattern. It’s become my TNT, as well.

    1. Jenny says:

      Glad to share the TNT love

  8. Amazing lace! Amazing skirt, you look great 🙂
    And damn am I glad I’m not the only one that ‘wears’ stash fabric in that way heehee

    1. Jenny says:

      Ha ha ha I swear I’ve done that with most of the fabrics in my sewing room…

  9. Tiffany says:

    Pretty! You look gorgeous!

    1. Jenny says:

      Thanks, Tiffany! Not bad for a freezing stairwell 😉

  10. That’s super cute. I hope the weather cooperates soon so you can wear it!

    1. Jenny says:

      Well so far today… not so much! But hopefully soon (looks out at the never-ending blizzard…

  11. Crab and Bee says:

    Oh, I love this. Great use of that cool fabric!

  12. This was a great way to feature your lace! Sheer panel cutouts in skirts have been inundating my Pinterest feed lately. This reminds me of the effect without having to do the extra work of inserting a sheer panel!

    1. Jenny says:

      Yes me too and I always salivate over them… I’m glad I finally managed to whip one up having thought about it for months.

  13. Ruth Procter says:

    It looks great – the stripy lace is gorgeous!

  14. Nathalie says:

    Wow that is a gorgeous outfit! I love everything about it, the striped lace and the shorter hem of the dress really shows it off. I think it will also look nice over a solid skirt in a bright colour. I have never worked with lace but if I can find something similar I will definitely try it.

    1. Jenny says:

      It would def look good in a bright colour, too..

  15. Sophie-Lee says:

    My goodness, this is so gorgeous, I don’t even know what else to say. GORGEOUS, JENNY!

    Also, I think I really need to get my hands on that skirt pattern.

    1. Jenny says:

      THANK YOU GORGEOUS SOPHIE-LEE

  16. Wow, that is amazing! I LOVE the stripy lace, and the shorter underskirt is perfect. I sewed with lace for the first time recently – to make a True Bias Sutton. I did wonder about sewing over he holes, but took the same approach as you (ie just got on with it), and it worked. I’ve even washed it and it’s still held together!!

    1. Jenny says:

      It’s really bizarre, right?! It doesn’t seem like it should work and then… it just sort of does.

  17. It’s lovely! Will be gorgeous in summer with a sleeveless top too. I think you’ll really be able to dress it up or down. I made a gathered stripey lace skirt a couple of years ago and feel very Sarah Jessica Parker in it (it’s navy and white striped lace) and was also pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to sew.

    1. Jenny says:

      Ooh that’s a good idea to pair it with a sleeveless top! I’ll have to play around.

  18. WHOA! I love this! I avoid Kashi like the plague most of the time because my wallet can’t handle trips over there! He always knows just what to show me and I leave with a GARBAGE BAG full of fabric. Ack! This is super, super fantastic and you look AMAZING.

    1. Jenny says:

      Ha ha Kashi is BAD/GOOD NEWS!

  19. Ooh, sultry and fun at the same time – a really lovely combination!

    1. Jenny says:

      Ha I don’t think of myself as ever being sultry, but I’ll take your word for it 🙂

    1. Jenny says:

      Thanks, Carolyn!

  20. Lou says:

    Wow! That’s amazing! Love the over/under skirt design, and am completely with you on the non-fancy lace thing. With pumps would be uber cool!

    1. Jenny says:

      Thanks, Lou! I’m engineering opportunities to wear it now 😉

  21. Caroline says:

    It’s lovely! And no hemming too – added bonus!

    1. Jenny says:

      Thank you, Caroline! And yes no hemming is the bees knees

  22. Katy Patzel says:

    Love how this turned out!

    1. Jenny says:

      Why thank you Ms P!

  23. Denise says:

    Stunning skirt! Love it! And, since so many have mentioned using other colors as the underskirt…making up the lace skirt as a stand alone garment w/o an attached underskirt would give it an unending range or modifications.

    1. Jenny says:

      That’s a great idea – and I still have a ton of it, so maybe next time!

  24. Sylvie says:

    Thank you for addressing sewing mostly air! HOW DOES THAT WORK?! Glad you can now wear it out of the house. This lace would make a rather risqué strapless house-ballgown.

    1. Jenny says:

      I still think it’s magic, frankly!

  25. V says:

    Oh gosh, wear that lusciousness to work! The world should not be denied such stripey gorgeous skirt business! You’ve sewn air, which must mean that skirt is the emperor’s new…um…skirt?

    1. Jenny says:

      Ha ha ha someone’s probably pointing out to me as we speak

  26. Margo B says:

    So dang gorgeous!!!!

  27. Looove this, super inspired to make something similar! Thank you!

  28. Birgit says:

    It’s perfect! I need to find some of that stripey lace for myself, I’m too jealous of your skirt…

Let me know what you think!